Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 435 How Will Future Generations Scorn Me? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

“You know how to flatter me.” Shen Bo glanced at him. “Who says I don’t want to do this? But you also know that there’s a small group of people in the court who are always good at changing their tune depending on the wind.”

"Although Hu Yucheng has made meritorious contributions in the war, he was once a disciple of Yan Song. Now that the Yan family has fallen, after the war is over, they will definitely jump out and accuse Hu Yucheng of being a member of the Yan family who escaped the net."

"Some people need to use their influence to bring down officials in order to advance their careers."

“Hu Yucheng, who has a tainted past, is a ready-made example.”

In short, it's possible to exonerate Hu Yucheng, but given his relationship with Yan Song, getting him credit is not something that can be done in a few words.

If they insist on doing so, it will be easy for two factions to form in the court.

Once the two parties begin to diverge, some will fan the flames, attempting to profit from the partisan struggle, and history will repeat itself.

A snowflake drifted into the three-inch-wide window crack, and then hundreds and thousands of snowflakes followed the wind.

Lu Jie closed the window.

At this moment, Lu Jia hurriedly walked over from the Lianlong area with a eunuch:

"Father, something has happened in the palace!"

After he finished speaking, he led the eunuch to the front.

The eunuch's voice trembled as he said, "I have come on His Highness the Crown Prince's orders to invite you two gentlemen to enter the palace as soon as possible!"
"His Majesty... he's probably in serious trouble!"

"..."

……

When the Shen and Lu families went to the palace together, they happened to meet He Ping under the palace gate.

He was still wearing the clothes he had worn to the banquet at the Lu family during the day, with a trace of haziness remaining after sobering up from his drunkenness.

It seems the situation is truly urgent, and there's no time to worry about anything else.

Without saying much, they clasped their hands in greeting and then headed to the Qianqing Palace together.

The palace was filled with guards.

The dim palace lanterns illuminated the palace servants standing inside and outside the palace gates. Imperial Physician Sheng led all the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital in a state of high alert, and the entire palace was filled with a somber atmosphere.

Li Quan's eyes were red and swollen as he hurriedly greeted the crowd outside the palace gate.

"Although I've been weak, I can still sit up to eat. But I wasn't feeling well when I got up this morning. My hands and feet were cold, and when I went to help me, my joints were stiff."

"He was barely fed some ginseng porridge and slept for half a day. His Highness the Crown Prince originally planned to go to the Lu residence to bring some joy to the Grand Secretary, but he did not set off even after changing his luggage."

"The Crown Prince and Crown Princess stayed by his side until evening. The Emperor woke up, and I fed him half a bowl of porridge and half a mandarin fish, which he usually loves."

"Later, the Empress Dowager arrived, and they talked for a while."

"Physician Sheng said that he was already exhausted and his life was about to end. He said that it might be a last gasp of life before death. His Highness the Crown Prince heard the Emperor ask if today was the Grand Secretary's birthday."

"An imperial decree should be issued to reward them."

"Then His Highness issued an edict to invite Grand Secretary Lu to the palace, and then issued edicts to Grand Commandant Shen and Commander He. I'm afraid they also know that their time is up."

At this point, tears streamed down Li Quan's face.

He had served the emperor his entire life, and even though he had been estranged from him at times, he still couldn't bring himself to be so cruel.

Everyone then went inside.

The emperor lay on the bed, his cheeks flushed.

The Crown Prince sat beside her, feeding her ginseng soup. The Crown Prince's wife and the Dowager Consort sat under the curtain, both with moist eyes.

Li Quan stepped forward and helped the emperor sit up.

The loose yellow robe then fell down, as if it were wrapped around a skeleton.

Everyone knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

The emperor said, "I have only lived for sixty years and am about to meet the late emperor. What talk of 'ten thousand years'? That's all a lie."

Everyone glanced at him and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" again.

The emperor said, "Lu Jie, you are the chief minister. Today is your fortieth birthday, and I have a reward for you." He looked to his left.

The crown prince then produced an imperial edict.

After the list was read aloud, Li Quan took over and read the rest of the gift list.

The emperor looked at them all and said, “You are all my trusted ministers. It’s good that you can still take one last look at each other.”

"I hope you will continue to assist the Crown Prince in the future. — Shen Yu, the Crown Prince trusts you very much, and I have watched you grow up. You are a person of outstanding talent."

"You must also be like your fathers, loyal to the emperor and patriotic, treat the crown prince well, and be kind to the common people."

Over the years, many people have secretly criticized the emperor, especially after the downfall of the Yan family, and they have become somewhat dismissive of him. However, at this moment, none of them dare to be negligent in the slightest.

The crowd knelt and received the decree.

Immediately afterward, footsteps were heard from outside. It turned out that the officials who had received the imperial edict had arrived one after another and were kneeling outside the courtyard waiting.

Lu Jie stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, please rest assured and take care of your health. May you live to a ripe old age."

The emperor looked him over and said, "I heard you married the adopted daughter of the Yan family? Yan Song mentioned this yesterday."

"Your crimson robe looks really good on you. You should wear it every day from now on."

“Yan Aqing also wanted to wear it, but he was not a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and was not qualified to enter the cabinet. He wanted to wear it but could not.”

That's a mistake.

Everyone looked at each other.

Lu Jie thought for a moment, walked to the side, picked up a pen and wrote a few words on a piece of paper, then took it and walked over: "Your Majesty, Hu Yucheng is Grand Secretary Yan's student, but he is secretly cursing Grand Secretary Yan, saying that he is Your Majesty's lackey."

"Hu Yucheng?" The emperor looked somewhat bewildered. "Isn't he just a minor general? How dare he be so disrespectful to my men?"

Lu Jie handed over the paper: "This is his document requesting to recognize Grand Secretary Yan as his godfather. Do you want to approve it?"

"How can someone who so blatantly disrespects the Emperor's chief minister be worthy of being Grand Secretary Yan's student?"

"Unworthy!" The emperor waved his hand, his face flushing even more. "Don't let such a treacherous villain succeed. Go and tell Yan Song that he is unworthy to be a student of the Yan family!"

"According to the order!"

Lu Jie responded loudly, then handed the vermilion brush to the emperor: "Please, Your Majesty, issue this vermilion edict!"

Everyone watched with bated breath.

The emperor took the vermilion brush and finished writing in one stroke.

Lu Jie took the paper back with both hands, turned and handed it to Grand Commandant Shen beside him, his gaze then sweeping over the stunned Crown Prince, Li Quan and the others: "You all heard it, the Emperor has decreed that Hu Yucheng is not Yan Song's student and has no relation to the Yan family! No one is allowed to discuss this in the future!"

"Please, Eunuch Li, sign the document as soon as possible."

Grand Commandant Shen, being astute, immediately gestured to the Crown Prince and He Ping, who were unaware of the situation, saying, "Please follow me, everyone!"

Everyone left.

Lu Jie fed the emperor two sips of water, and the emperor regained some consciousness.

He said, "I hate the Yan family to the bone."

He coughed up two mouthfuls of blood and said again, "Empress Yi, Empress Yi!"

Consort Yi stepped forward, choking with sobs.

"I have failed my ancestors."

The Dowager Princess gently stroked his forehead.

The emperor stared at her intently, his eyes wide: "The empire has been in my hands for over forty years, yet I have ended up with everyone resenting me. How will future generations curse me?"

Consort Yi breathed a sigh of relief, tears welling in her eyes: "Your Majesty, you can rest in peace now."

The emperor let out a long sigh. Suddenly, his eyes widened: "The empress has come to fetch me with a fireball!"

……